The so-called middle voice is an approximate type of grammatical voice in which the subject both performs and receives the action expressed by the verb. In other words, the subject acts as both the agent and the receiver (i.e., the direct object) of the action. Why is the middle voice described as a combination of the active and passive voices?More...

In the early 19th century, a sharp rise in the number of anatomy schools in Scotland was followed by a marked increase in the incidence of grave robbing, which filled the growing need for dissection subjects. Revelations about the practice led to public outrage, and, around 1816, to the invention of mortsafes—heavy, iron contraptions placed over the graves of the newly deceased to deter body snatchers. What was one of the only ways these anatomy schools could obtain cadavers legitimately?More...

The Roman navy's decisive victory over the Carthaginians at the Battle of the Aegates Islands brought about the end of the decades-long First Punic War. The Carthaginian fleet involved in the battle had come to deliver supplies to besieged forces in Sicily. Overloaded with provisions, the Carthaginian vessels were easily overtaken by the Romans despite winds favoring the former. What bold tactical decision allowed the Romans to overcome this obstacle and defeat the Carthaginians?More...

The most prominent member of New Zealand's suffrage movement, Sheppard helped make her country the first nation to grant women the right to vote. She was also active in the temperance movement, which sought to achieve its goals by promoting woman's suffrage. Today, Sheppard's image appears on New Zealand's 10-pound note, and she is honored in a monument at Christchurch. Immediately after women's suffrage was granted in 1893, Sheppard embarked on a frantic, 10-week effort to do what?More...

Quotation of the Day

In the sun-time, when the world is bounding forward full of life, we cannot stay to sigh and sulk ... but if the misfortune comes at 10PM, we read poetry or sit in the dark and think what a hollow world this is.

Billed "The World's Largest Rattlesnake Round-Up," this is one of several rattlesnake round-ups in Texas; some 30,000 spectators come to watch the goings-on. It is sponsored by the Sweetwater Jaycees, who stress the focus on safety and the benefits of the round-up. The weekend events include snake-handling demonstrations and the awarding of prizes for the biggest snake. There are also a parade, rattlesnake dances with country bands, and a rattlesnake meat-eating contest. A cook shack fries and serves more than 4,000 pounds of rattlesnake meat each year. More...

One sunny spring day in 2012, Tony Pernas, a botanist for the Big Cypress National Preserve, volunteered his boat to take colleagues on a scouting trip to chase down a rumored flock of rare flamingos spotted in a remote Everglades lake. Despite their ...More...

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